Heel Realization: Difference between revisions

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Common when [[The Dark Side Will Make You Forget]] or when [[Big Brother Is Employing You]].

Compare [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]] and [[Unwitting Pawn]]. Contrast with [[Knight Templar]] (who never realizes he's a villain) and [[Card-Carrying Villain]] (who never thinks he's a good guy in first place). Also see [[Tomato in ~~The~~ Mirror]], when one of the good guys realises he was a sleeper agent all the time.

Compare [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]] and [[Unwitting Pawn]]. Contrast with [[Knight Templar]] (who never realizes he's a villain) and [[Card-Carrying Villain]] (who never thinks he's a good guy in first place). Also see [[Tomato in the Mirror]], when one of the good guys realises he was a sleeper agent all the time.

For the opposite, see [[You Are Better Than You Think You Are]] where the character fails to see they are nobler than they give themselves credit for.

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** A strong case of [[Wrong Genre Savvy]]- had he been in a [[Gundam]] series ([[It Makes Sense in Context|or given the situation so far]], a show like [[Evangelion]]) he'd have been the "right" one.

*** More a case of [[Values Dissonance]] between the two shows.

* Happened in several arcs in ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni]]'', with [[Ignored Epiphany|varying]] [[I Know You Are in There Somewhere Fight|results]].

* Happened in several arcs in ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'', with [[Ignored Epiphany|varying]] [[I Know You Are in There Somewhere Fight|results]].

** Of note is the [[Heartwarming Moments]] in ''Tsumihoroboshi-hen'' when Keiichi {{spoiler|recalls the events of ''Onikakushi-hen'', and he realizes that ''he'' was the insane one, not them.}} Cue Keiichi hugging Mion. D'AWW.

* Ken of ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]'' realizes that the Digital World is not a [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|video game with good cruelty potential]], that the Digimon are alive and sentient, and that sadistically [[Cold-Blooded Torture|torturing]] them as an [[Evil Overlord]] is in fact ''bad.'' He undergoes a [[Heel Face Turn]] soon after... if you can say he was a [[Heel]] to begin with. He honestly [[Obliviously Evil|didn't know what he was doing]] until later in the arc, at which point he went into Dark Spore aided denial.

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* [[Suzumiya Haruhi]] in ''Sigh'', when she finally gets called out by Kyon on her treatment of Mikuru. Directly after this is one of her biggest [[Pet the Dog]] moments, and she becomes much nicer after this. Made more obvious in the anime rendition, where she looks away from Kyon as he calls her out and it's clear [[Cry Cute|that she's at the verge of tears]].

** In the 11th book, {{spoiler|Kyouko Tachibana}} has one of these.

* In ''[[Ga Rei Zero]]'', Yomi realizes what kind of monstrosity she is after she crippled Kiri physically and mentally. Actually she realizes this multiple times, but [[The Dark Side Will Make You Forget|the Sesshouseki robs her of clarity of mind and fills her with rage and despair]]. {{spoiler|Happens again in the final chapters of ''[[Ga Rei]]'' manga.}}

* In ''[[Ga-Rei Zero]]'', Yomi realizes what kind of monstrosity she is after she crippled Kiri physically and mentally. Actually she realizes this multiple times, but [[The Dark Side Will Make You Forget|the Sesshouseki robs her of clarity of mind and fills her with rage and despair]]. {{spoiler|Happens again in the final chapters of ''[[Ga-Rei]]'' manga.}}

* In [[Tegami Bachi]], Sara has this realization after seeing the memories from the Shindan Lag used to finish off the Gaichuu. They had pretended to be part of the anti-government faction Reverse (with Hunt presented as the "Man Who Could Not Become Spirit" to prevent people from mistreating him because of the monster arms sewn onto him), and while keeping up that act, decided to prevent letters from coming to Honey Waters. A man took it upon himself to deliver the letters, but was attacked by the Gaichuu, lost his heart and died. After realizing that their lie caused his death, Sara turns over all the money they received to the villagers, and sets out with Hunt to start anew.

* In ''[[Kurogane no Linebarrel]]'', after Kouichi Hayase's selfish use of [[Humongous Mecha|Linebarrel]] gets one of his friends killed, he realizes he's been a [[Designated Hero]] and resolves to be a proper good guy.

* A major theme of the Black Moon Clan in ''[[Sailor Moon]]''.

* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''. Most of these moments are in flashbacks, as soldiers in Ishval realize they're acting as [[Punch Clock Villain|Punch Clock Villains]] and become [[The Atoner|The Atoners]] we know and love. In the timeframe of the story itself, {{spoiler|Scar gets a slower-acting one than usual, apparently beginning when he notices that he's standing menacingly over Ed and Winry in exactly the same way he remembers [[Sociopathic Soldier|Kimblee]] standing over him and [[Dead Little Sister|his brother]]}}.

* In ''[[~~Mobile Fighter G Gundam (Anime)|~~Mobile Fighter G Gundam]]'', both Master Asia and Dr. Mikamura get them. For Master Asia, it was the fact that humanity was a part of the Earth as nature was and wiping them all out wouldn't solve a thing. For Dr. Mikamura, it was the realization that his own jealousy towards Dr. Kasshu lead them to the point where his own daughter was now the core of the Devil Gundam. Both of them suffer [[Tear Jerker]]-worthy [[Redemption Equals Death]] moments to atone.

* In ''[[Mobile Fighter G Gundam]]'', both Master Asia and Dr. Mikamura get them. For Master Asia, it was the fact that humanity was a part of the Earth as nature was and wiping them all out wouldn't solve a thing. For Dr. Mikamura, it was the realization that his own jealousy towards Dr. Kasshu lead them to the point where his own daughter was now the core of the Devil Gundam. Both of them suffer [[Tear Jerker]]-worthy [[Redemption Equals Death]] moments to atone.

** In [[Turn a Gundam (Anime)|Turn a Gundam]], Queen of the Moon Dianna Soreil learns that her policies, past antics and army have actually caused quite a bit of suffering both on Earth and on the Moon for ''years'' and allowed maniacs like [[Evil Is Hammy|Gym Ghingham]] to sieze ludicrous amounts of power. This turns her into [[The Atoner]] and causes her to undertake massive changes in policy upon regaining power.

* The comedy series ''[[~~Daily Lives of High School Boys (Manga)|~~Daily Lives of High School Boys]]'', surprisingly, has a few examples.

* The comedy series ''[[Daily Lives of High School Boys]]'', surprisingly, has a few examples.

** [[Played for Laughs]]: This trope is the entire point of ''High School Boys and Panties'' — peeping at a girl's panties does not make a guy feel good, but guilty and depressed... especially when you tricked a [[Ditz]] into unwittingly flaunting her panties. Motoharu slipped into a [[Heroic BSOD]] so hard ''he skipped school for three days''.

** [[Played for Drama]]: {{spoiler|[[Retired Outlaw|Habara]] always ends up crying whenever her past as the legendary [[Bully]] "Archdemon" is brought up.}}

** [[Played for Drama]]: {{spoiler|Yanagin was in Habara's gang as well, but she did a [[Heel Face Turn]] due to [[Scars Are Forever|what happened to Karasawa.]]}}

* The final climax of the 2003 version of ''[[Astro Boy (~~Anime~~)|Astro Boy]]''. For the entire series, Dr. Tenma had been trying to guide Astro so that he would eventually become the most powerful robot in the world, able to rule over all humanity. However, all this time, Astro had been fighting for peaceful man-machine coexistence. So in their final conflict, Tenma and Astro meet in the abandoned Laboratory 7, {{spoiler|where most of Tenma's angst originated, first with his real son then with Astro's original incarnation}}. What finally ended the battle wasn't strength of arms at all, but Astro {{spoiler|forgiving Tenma for everything he did. He suddenly realizes that the robot he built himself had shown himself to be ''more human than him'', and he finally surrenders.}}

* The final climax of the 2003 version of ''[[Astro Boy (anime)|Astro Boy]]''. For the entire series, Dr. Tenma had been trying to guide Astro so that he would eventually become the most powerful robot in the world, able to rule over all humanity. However, all this time, Astro had been fighting for peaceful man-machine coexistence. So in their final conflict, Tenma and Astro meet in the abandoned Laboratory 7, {{spoiler|where most of Tenma's angst originated, first with his real son then with Astro's original incarnation}}. What finally ended the battle wasn't strength of arms at all, but Astro {{spoiler|forgiving Tenma for everything he did. He suddenly realizes that the robot he built himself had shown himself to be ''more human than him'', and he finally surrenders.}}

== Comic Books ==

* In ''[[Y ~~the~~ Last Man]]'', one of the characters mentioned that she had been working for a long time to try and make the post-[[Gendercide]] world a little easier to deal with--It turns out she had been flooding the entire Pacific community with heroin, but figured that it really was not a bad thing since the entire world is circling the drain, and this is just letting people have a bit of happiness before humanity goes extinct. However, the fact of Yorick's existence, which means that extinction is not a guarantee, changed her perception of her role - ''she's'' not [[The Hero]], ''he'' is, and ''she's'' just one of the baddies. [[Redemption Equals Death|Things do not go so well for her after that]].

* In ''[[Y: The Last Man]]'', one of the characters mentioned that she had been working for a long time to try and make the post-[[Gendercide]] world a little easier to deal with--It turns out she had been flooding the entire Pacific community with heroin, but figured that it really was not a bad thing since the entire world is circling the drain, and this is just letting people have a bit of happiness before humanity goes extinct. However, the fact of Yorick's existence, which means that extinction is not a guarantee, changed her perception of her role - ''she's'' not [[The Hero]], ''he'' is, and ''she's'' just one of the baddies. [[Redemption Equals Death|Things do not go so well for her after that]].

* The ''[[Superman]]'' nemesis Manchester Black thought of himself as a "realist", operating as an anti-hero (i.e. killing without remorse). He perceived Superman's boy-scout morality to be a facade bordering on stupidity. In an attempt to give Superman [[One Bad Day]], he created a telepathic illusion of Lois Lane being murdered to provoke a homicidal response out of Superman. When it failed, and he saw the depth of Superman's dedication, Black realized that he had been a villain who had been lying to himself all along, and there was such a thing as a Good Guy. He then promptly killed himself. Sort of. Poor little [http://www.comicvine.com/sister-superior/29-6199/ Vera].

* The titular character in issue 1 of the ''[[Transformers]]'' comic book mini-series ''Megatron: Origin''. However, he concluded that [[Necessarily Evil|it was the only path he had to walk]], turning him into the universe-conquering Decepticon we know and love.

* Magneto has one of these in ''[[X-Men|Uncanny X-Men]]'' #150, after he almost kills Kitty Pryde with an electric shock. He's so disturbed by it that he actually reforms (and stays reformed for a hundred and twenty-five issues), and eventually becomes the headmaster of Xavier's school.

* This is basically what ended the Marvel Comics ''[[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]''. After the final battle causes lots of destruction calls in the rescue workers and he notices civilians begging to him not to kill [[Iron Man]], [[Captain America]] realizes that he's putting innocent people in physical danger by his actions and country wants and has basically become one of the villains he usually fights against. Unwilling to become an [[Anti-Hero]] and force his ideals on the public he promptly orders his side to stand down.

* In the Marvel ''[[Dark Reign (~~Comic Book~~)|The Siege]]'' story arc, {{spoiler|Loki looks on in shock when he realizes that his actions were what led to the destruction of Asgard. He only wanted to restore Asgard's ancient glory, and never intended for these events to happen}}.

* In the Marvel ''[[Dark Reign (comics)|The Siege]]'' story arc, {{spoiler|Loki looks on in shock when he realizes that his actions were what led to the destruction of Asgard. He only wanted to restore Asgard's ancient glory, and never intended for these events to happen}}.

** The Sentry's case throughout ''[[Dark Reign]]'' (and even before) might also count, as he was constantly in doubt of his actions - 'course, the Void may be to blame for the most part, but let's not forget that Bob Reynolds himself is an extremely neurotic and superpowered individual. As he said in the first mission of the Dark Avengers, after ripping off Morgan's head: "What did I do? Was it good or bad?"

* ''[[Enemy Ace]]'', a series about an honorable German pilot flying in World War One, had [http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/1002136.html a more recent series] where the same pilot, now a gray-haired veteran, flew in World War Two. He was much unhappier about this war. At some point he got shot down and parachuted to safety near Dachau, saw one of the death camps, and underwent a textbook [[Heel Realization]], even telling those under his command that they were fighting for the devil himself. He told them that he would no longer protect the Third Reich, and that he planned to fly to the nearest Allied airbase and surrender, giving them his undamaged fighter, then help them in any way he could.

* Of all people, [[Superboy]] [[Complete Monster|Prime]] seems uh, primed, for one of these in ''[[Blackest Night]]''. Then again, he has been looking at his monstrous actions from a different perspective {{spoiler|aka ours}} over and over again for months on end.

* Happens twice in the [[Iron Man]] Armour Wars saga, once at the beginning when he realises his technology may have been responsible for some of the worst criminals in the Marvel Universe, {{spoiler|and again at the end when he questions the extreme measures he has used in trying to solve the problem.}}

* Nite Owl II in ''[[Watchmen (~~Comic Book~~)|Watchmen]]'' finally begins to understand the potentially harmful social effects of superheroes during the Keene Riot.

* Nite Owl II in ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]'' finally begins to understand the potentially harmful social effects of superheroes during the Keene Riot.

* This is played with in an issue of ''[[Nemesis the Warlock]]''. The villain calls himself Torquemada, and in many ways models himself on the Spanish inquisitor of the same name. They meet through time travel, and the villain explains to the inquisitor what his philosophy has led to. It's the ''[[Even Evil Has Standards|inquisitor]]'' [[Complete Monster|who's horrified]].

* In ''[[Elf Quest]]'', [[Knight Templar]] Rayek suffers a ''massive'' and acute [[Heel Realization]] just as he's about to kill all of the Wolfriders (for the greater good, he thinks). It's triggered when he meets his daughter Venka for the first time, who was trained her whole life to stop him. She refuses to, telling him that it has to be his own choice.

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== Fan Works ==

* {{spoiler|Trian Aeducan}} has one in [[~~Dragon Age the Crown of Thorns|~~Dragon Age: The Crown of Thorns]] and it's bad enough that he {{spoiler|becomes unable to sleep properly, falls into a depression he can only distract himself from by abusing his body through incessant workout, and this is when he's not having a [[Heroic BSOD]]. Gorim, surprisingly enough, tries to get him out of it, but he doesn't have much luck because of how both of them are half-convinced the dwarven noble protagonist is dead, so he has his own grief to work out. Trian only really manages to emotionally recover, somewhat, when he discovers his talent for sculpting, something that happens ''weeks'' after the realization. Things aren't made much better by what happens with the king and the city-state itself afterwards.}} Let's just say those weren't the best few months of his life.

* {{spoiler|Trian Aeducan}} has one in [[Dragon Age: The Crown of Thorns]] and it's bad enough that he {{spoiler|becomes unable to sleep properly, falls into a depression he can only distract himself from by abusing his body through incessant workout, and this is when he's not having a [[Heroic BSOD]]. Gorim, surprisingly enough, tries to get him out of it, but he doesn't have much luck because of how both of them are half-convinced the dwarven noble protagonist is dead, so he has his own grief to work out. Trian only really manages to emotionally recover, somewhat, when he discovers his talent for sculpting, something that happens ''weeks'' after the realization. Things aren't made much better by what happens with the king and the city-state itself afterwards.}} Let's just say those weren't the best few months of his life.

** {{spoiler|King Endrin Aeducan}} is a sort of aversion because he knows what he's doing is wrong from the get go. Still, his {{spoiler|deathbed scene}} finally has him putting it into words, but it's far, ''far'' too late by then, or so he thinks. {{spoiler|It actually wasn't, since everything had gone according to one of the DN's plans, but Endrin actually ''chooses'' to die because he didn't want to face his second son when he came back.}} It's just a very small point in his favor that {{spoiler|part of the reason for his decision to give up on life before the second eldest prince has a chance to return is the fact that he doesn't want to put Raonar through the experience of having a second parent die in front of him.}} Needless to say, {{spoiler|the second son in question quite rightfully calls him a stupid old man when he finds out.}}

* In [[~~Team 8 (Fanfic)|~~Team 8]], Sakura overhears Naruto warning Lee about the fact that she is actually not a nice person to anyone other than Sasuke, and realizes, after some thought, that he is correct.

* In [[Team 8]], Sakura overhears Naruto warning Lee about the fact that she is actually not a nice person to anyone other than Sasuke, and realizes, after some thought, that he is correct.

* In the [[Babylon 5]]/MassEffect [[Crossover Fic]] ''The Babylon Effect'' Matriarch Benezia decides to stop at Beta Durani to have a little talk with a caputured Minbari Shai Alyt on the way to a Peace Mission to Minbar. After pointing out that the Minbari had killed an Asari Matriarch during an earlier battle during the war and that, by the Minbari's logic, the Asari had every right to exterminate ''them'', among other things. The Shai Alyt has a combination of this and a [[Oh Crap]] moment realizing that there are only two ways their war with the Terran Systems Alliance will end; either they make peace with them, or the Citadel Council will crush them like a grape.

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'''Bill Foster:''' How did that happen? }}

* In ''[[American Beauty]]'', the middle-aged protagonist spends the majority of the movie fantasizing about a slutty teenager, and even starts working out to impress her. But when he finally gets a chance to fulfill the fantasy, he realizes that statutory rape laws are there for a reason: {{spoiler|She's just as insecure and immature as any other teenager, and is actually still a virgin.}} He opts to be a [[Chaste Hero]], not that [[Redemption Equals Death|it helps much]].

* The Operative in ''[[~~Serenity (Film)|~~Serenity]]'' has one of these once he realizes just what the [[Utopia Justifies the Means|supposed "utopia"]] that he has been [[Necessarily Evil|committing horrible acts to create]] would actually look like.

* The Operative in ''[[Serenity]]'' has one of these once he realizes just what the [[Utopia Justifies the Means|supposed "utopia"]] that he has been [[Necessarily Evil|committing horrible acts to create]] would actually look like.

* [[Jim Carrey]] has an excellent one in ''[[Liar Liar]]''. Since he is [[Can Not Tell a Lie|magically compelled to tell the truth]], what he thinks is a rant on his child-raising techniques opens with him saying "I'm a bad father!" His [[My God, What Have I Done?|expression]] indicates that this is perhaps the first time he has admitted that to himself.

* Subverted in the [[Bill Paxton]] film ''[[Frailty]]'': {{spoiler|Fenton's father locks him in a cellar with minimal food and water until the boy comes to the realization that the family is destined to be God's warriors on earth, killing demons. Fenton later does have an epiphany... that he is one of the demons. He summarily kills his father with his own axe and instructs his brother Adam to bury him in the same rose garden all of the other demons were buried in, when the time comes for ''him'' to be killed.}}

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* In ''[[The Fox and The Hound]]'', the [[Big Bad]] has one at the end when Copper prevents him from shooting Tod, despite the fact that Tod saved both their lives only two minutes earlier.

* The expression on [[The Captain|Captain]] [[Crimson Tide|Ramsey]]'s face when the EAM is read looks like this.

* [[Tron Legacy ~~(Film)~~|"I fight for the users!"]]

* [[Tron: Legacy|"I fight for the users!"]]

* Sybok from ''[[Star Trek V ~~the~~ Final Frontier]]'' is devastated when he finds out that "God" is actually a malevolent alien entity, making his hijacking of Captain Kirk's ship worthless and potentially fatal.

* Sybok from ''[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]]'' is devastated when he finds out that "God" is actually a malevolent alien entity, making his hijacking of Captain Kirk's ship worthless and potentially fatal.

* In ''[[12 Angry Men ~~(Film)~~|Twelve Angry Men]]'', when {{spoiler|Juror #3}}, in the middle of explaining his 'Guilty' vote, sees {{spoiler|the picture of his son in his wallet and tears it up}} ... and figures out why he ''really'' was voting the way he was.

* In ''[[12 Angry Men|Twelve Angry Men]]'', when {{spoiler|Juror #3}}, in the middle of explaining his 'Guilty' vote, sees {{spoiler|the picture of his son in his wallet and tears it up}} ... and figures out why he ''really'' was voting the way he was.

* A mild case with {{spoiler|Jason}} in ''[[Mystery Team]]'' after Kelly chews him out for trash mouthing {{spoiler|Charlie and Duncan}}.

* The audience has one of these in [[Attack of the Clones]]; there is a scene at the end where troops ships are taking off from Coruscant to fight in the Clone Wars--the music playing in the background is The Imperial March. The audience realizes that for the past hour or so, they've been [[Rooting for ~~The~~ Empire]].

* The audience has one of these in [[Attack of the Clones]]; there is a scene at the end where troops ships are taking off from Coruscant to fight in the Clone Wars--the music playing in the background is The Imperial March. The audience realizes that for the past hour or so, they've been [[Rooting for the Empire]].

* "[[Spider-Man (~~Film~~)|I will not die a monster!]]", exclaimed Doc Ock after his realization.

* "[[Spider-Man (film)|I will not die a monster!]]", exclaimed Doc Ock after his realization.

* Jack's realisation in ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'' crystallises in the song "Poor Jack".

* ''[[Cars]] 2'' has Mater having a dream where he sees his activities over the past few days and finally realizes what an embarrassing jackass he's been to Lightning McQueen.

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* Ian Hunter of ''[[The Unicorn Chronicles]]'' spends the first book, plus a great deal of flashback, being on the side of his great-great-and so on- grandmother, who is trying to destroy luster and the unicorns, all to 'rescue' his daughter. Upon finding her, she yells at him for hurting her friends, and after he gets dumped in the middle of nowhere, he realizes that Beloved is a monster and he's been on the wrong side for the past ten or so years.

* A halfway one from [[The Secret River]]: Thornhill says that he is "not a bad man", but is doing "something only the worst of men could do"

* In [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld ~~(Literature)~~/Witches Abroad|Witches Abroad]]'', {{spoiler|Lily Weatherwax}} ruled with an iron fist in order to make fairy stories come true (up to and including imprisoning a toymaker who serially failed to whistle as he worked) and didn't realise that this made ''her'' the bad one until her final confrontation with her sister.

* In [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld/Witches Abroad|Witches Abroad]]'', {{spoiler|Lily Weatherwax}} ruled with an iron fist in order to make fairy stories come true (up to and including imprisoning a toymaker who serially failed to whistle as he worked) and didn't realise that this made ''her'' the bad one until her final confrontation with her sister.

** She goes to her {{spoiler|[[And I Must Scream|not quite death]]}} still insisting she's the good one, but Granny's insistence otherwise has rattled her somewhat. Granny, though, has on multiple occasions made a point of saying that only people who don't know better can actually be bad; if you know the difference between right and wrong, you can't choose wrong.

** Subverted in ''Wyrd Sisters'' when Granny Weatherwax forces the [[Complete Monster|monstrous]] queen of Lancre to see her [[True Self]]. Instead of repenting, the queen declares that given the chance to start over she would've done everything the same, only harder. {{spoiler|She then suffers [[Karmic Death]]...sort of.}} Which would make the above point "if know the difference... and are sane..."

* In the book ''[[Wicked (~~Literature~~)|Wicked]]'', Elphaba is [[Genre Savvy]] enough to eventually pick up on her [[Wicked Witch]] role.

* In the book ''[[Wicked (novel)|Wicked]]'', Elphaba is [[Genre Savvy]] enough to eventually pick up on her [[Wicked Witch]] role.

* ''[[Sir Apropos of Nothing]]'' has a variation: he's not the villain, but instead he's the weird side character to someone else's journey. {{spoiler|He eventually kills the hero and takes over his duties, to disastrous results.}} Then in ''The Woad to Wuin'', when he wakes up from a coma, he realizes what ''"he's"'' done while he was "sleeping" and is scared out of his wits. When he realizes the same force that controlled him then makes him indestructible... well, [[Face Heel Turn|he falls into the evil]] [[Jumped At the Call|well face-first]].

** Though he'd been dangling just over the abyss to begin with, really. Kind of a self-serving-but-not-completely-evil-bastard/heel turn.

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* Lale fights this with all her might for awhile in ''[[The Assassins of Tamurin]]'', until the crimes she realizes "Mother" has committed get [[It's Personal|personal]].

* This is the [[Title Drop|source of the title]] of ''[[I Am Legend]]''. {{spoiler|The protagonist is indiscriminately killing the vampires who have reformed and learned to control their urges and realizes at the end he has become a monster to ''them''}}.

* In [[Harry Turtledove]]'s [[Alternate History]] ''[[Worldwar ~~(Literature)~~]]'' series, this happens to [[Those Wacky Nazis|Panzer Commander of the Wehrmacht]] Heinrich Jäger when an old Jewish man shows him the bullet hole in his neck and tells him the story of how he got it. Heinrich had heard the rumors before then, but he hadn't believed in them. The third book sums it up nicely:

* In [[Harry Turtledove]]'s [[Alternate History]] ''[[Worldwar]]'' series, this happens to [[Those Wacky Nazis|Panzer Commander of the Wehrmacht]] Heinrich Jäger when an old Jewish man shows him the bullet hole in his neck and tells him the story of how he got it. Heinrich had heard the rumors before then, but he hadn't believed in them. The third book sums it up nicely:

{{quote| What Skorzeny didn't get and wouldn't get if he lived to be a hundred - not likely, considering how the SS man lived - was that ''what we were supposed to do'' and ''what our superiors ordered us to do'' weren't necessarily the same thing.

Soldiers didn't commonly had to make that distinction. Jäger hadn't worried about it, not until he had found out how the Germans dealt with Jews in the east. Since then, he hadn't been able to look away. He knew what sort of disaster awaited the world if the [[Alien Invasion|Lizards]] won the war. Like Skorzeny, he was willing to do just about anything to keep that from happening. Unlike the SS man, he wasn't willing to believe that everything he did was fine and virtuous.

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* In [[Ayn Rand]]'s ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', James Taggart is helping to [[Cold-Blooded Torture|torture]] {{spoiler|John Galt}}, and admits the latter's refusal to cry out is making him upset. When he realizes the significance of this, that he wants the man to be tortured to death -- even though Taggart knows that {{spoiler|Galt's}} the only one that can keep Taggart alive as civilization collapses, it dawns on him that he himself is total evil. At this point, [[Go Mad From the Revelation|he goes insane]].

* Reverend Hale in ''[[The Crucible]]'' has one of these and spends the rest of the play trying to make amends - by encouraging victims of the witch-hunt to confess and live rather than die for continuing to deny witchcraft.

* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s [[~~Gaunts~~ Ghosts]] novel ''Traitor General'', {{spoiler|Sturm}}, his memory partially recovered, regards himself as deeply injured by his treatment at the hands of the Imperial forces. However, as he recovers, he realizes that [[Amnesiac Dissonance|he had forgot his acts that inspired it]], and that he [[Redemption Equals Death|deserves to die]]. (Which is more than he realized, with all his memories, at the end of ''Necropolis''.)

* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s [[Gaunt's Ghosts]] novel ''Traitor General'', {{spoiler|Sturm}}, his memory partially recovered, regards himself as deeply injured by his treatment at the hands of the Imperial forces. However, as he recovers, he realizes that [[Amnesiac Dissonance|he had forgot his acts that inspired it]], and that he [[Redemption Equals Death|deserves to die]]. (Which is more than he realized, with all his memories, at the end of ''Necropolis''.)

* ''[[Atonement]]'' gives one to Briony, the ''narrator'', upon the realization that her actions sent an innocent man to prison.

* In [[Ben Counter]]'s [[Warhammer 40000]] [[Horus Heresy]] novel ''Galaxy In Flames'', after {{spoiler|Abaddon and Aximand}} set out to lure {{spoiler|Loken and Torgaddon}} to their deaths, {{spoiler|Torgaddon}} points out to {{spoiler|Aximand}} that he has doubt in his eyes -- which doesn't keep him from killing him, but he [[Tears of Remorse|sobs]] afterwards and speaks of how they had been their brothers. {{spoiler|Abaddon}} thinks he needs to be watched.

** In [[Graham McNeill]]'s ''Fulgrim'', Fulgrim realizes how great his betrayal is when he is fighting {{spoiler|Ferrus Manus; his [[Evil Weapon|sword]] gets him to kill Ferrus Manus anyway, saying he will kill him otherwise, and then, when Fulgrim says "[[What Have I Done]]", it lets him realize the depths of his crime, and that his view of Ferrus Manus had been formed by spiteful misinterpretation of his deeds.}}

** While we're on this, Sarpedon of the ''[[~~Soul Drinkers (Literature)|~~Soul Drinkers]]'' (another [[Ben Counter]] work) comes to the terrifying realisation at the end of ''Soul Drinker'', upon finding out that his Chapter have essentially become Chaos Marines (although, had it not been for Chaos mind-befuddling, the mutations would have provided a pretty damn big clue). Having realised this, Sarpedon hauls himself and his Chapter back from the brink of Chaos just in time, and kills the Daemon responsible.

** While we're on this, Sarpedon of the ''[[Soul Drinkers]]'' (another [[Ben Counter]] work) comes to the terrifying realisation at the end of ''Soul Drinker'', upon finding out that his Chapter have essentially become Chaos Marines (although, had it not been for Chaos mind-befuddling, the mutations would have provided a pretty damn big clue). Having realised this, Sarpedon hauls himself and his Chapter back from the brink of Chaos just in time, and kills the Daemon responsible.

* In [[James Swallow]]'s [[Warhammer 40000]] novel ''[[Blood Angels ~~(Literature)~~|Deus Sanguinius]]'', Sachiel comes into {{spoiler|Inquisitor Stele's}} rooms when forbidden, and realizes the man is working for Chaos, and so Sachiel and everyone else has been Chaos-tainted. (Nothing [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]] can't fix, though.) During the single combat between Rafen and Arkio, he realizes it again, and this time {{spoiler|Inquisitor Stele}} murders him.

* In [[James Swallow]]'s [[Warhammer 40000]] novel ''[[Blood Angels|Deus Sanguinius]]'', Sachiel comes into {{spoiler|Inquisitor Stele's}} rooms when forbidden, and realizes the man is working for Chaos, and so Sachiel and everyone else has been Chaos-tainted. (Nothing [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]] can't fix, though.) During the single combat between Rafen and Arkio, he realizes it again, and this time {{spoiler|Inquisitor Stele}} murders him.

* In the novelization of the ''[[Magic ~~the~~ Gathering]]'' story ''Urza's Saga'', we have the [[Knight Templar]] archangel Radiant, whose last words are the startled "''I'm'' the mad one!"

* In the novelization of the ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' story ''Urza's Saga'', we have the [[Knight Templar]] archangel Radiant, whose last words are the startled "''I'm'' the mad one!"

* ''[[Star Wars]]'' novel examples:

** In ''[[Star Wars ~~(Franchise)~~/Allegiance|Allegiance]]'', a stormtrooper [[Would Not Shoot a Civilian|refuses to fire on unarmed civilians]], deliberately shooting to miss. Later he thinks back on how much he looked up to the Empire as a kid, when it came down on the [[Space Pirates]] who used to raid his homeworld, and how he joined the stormtrooper corps and served for ten years because it meant making that same kind of difference. But the Empire itself seemed to sour - there was that time he and the other stormtroopers forced a town to stand out in the pouring rain while their identities were checked and rechecked, there was that fanatical obsession with finding and killing Rebels which let other problems go unchecked, there was the promotion of murderers like Tarkin, there were things like the Imperial Security Bureau, and of course there was [[Moral Event Horizon|Alderaan]]. After [[Damn You, Muscle Memory!|sort of accidentally killing an ISB officer]], he and his [[True Companions]] steal a ship and go on the run, and end up helping people and finding that [[Good Feels Good]] as they try to figure out what to do. But they don't stop being stormtroopers, and they don't join the Rebellion.

** In ''[[Star Wars/Allegiance|Allegiance]]'', a stormtrooper [[Would Not Shoot a Civilian|refuses to fire on unarmed civilians]], deliberately shooting to miss. Later he thinks back on how much he looked up to the Empire as a kid, when it came down on the [[Space Pirates]] who used to raid his homeworld, and how he joined the stormtrooper corps and served for ten years because it meant making that same kind of difference. But the Empire itself seemed to sour - there was that time he and the other stormtroopers forced a town to stand out in the pouring rain while their identities were checked and rechecked, there was that fanatical obsession with finding and killing Rebels which let other problems go unchecked, there was the promotion of murderers like Tarkin, there were things like the Imperial Security Bureau, and of course there was [[Moral Event Horizon|Alderaan]]. After [[Damn You, Muscle Memory!|sort of accidentally killing an ISB officer]], he and his [[True Companions]] steal a ship and go on the run, and end up helping people and finding that [[Good Feels Good]] as they try to figure out what to do. But they don't stop being stormtroopers, and they don't join the Rebellion.

*** [[Word of God]], and supposedly the upcoming novel "Choices", holds that these stormtroopers eventually get kidnapped by Thrawn and end up in his offshoot, the Empire of the Hand. The Empire of the Hand, judging by ''[[Survivors Quest]]'' and the short story [[Outbound Flight|Fool's Bargain]], is apparently exactly what the stormtroopers used to think that the Empire was. Given that both of those feature stormtroopers who think for themselves and can make moral decisions, it's not surprising.

*** They end up forming a sort-of vigilante group that hunts down pirates and ends up helping Mara Jade expose corruption within the Empire. They called themselves the Hand of Judgment until Mara Jade saved them from getting killed for treason, then told them that there was only one Hand in the Empire, and it was her, the Emperor's Hand. They lost the name, but haven't quit hunting lawbreakers yet.

** ''[[Death Star]]'' has most of its viewpoint characters, all of them on the Death Star, realize this either slowly or after [[Moral Event Horizon|Alderaan]].

* ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'' is essentially one long heel realization by Scrooge.

* This is the central point in the ''[[~~The Wave (Film)|~~The Wave]]'', where a teacher wants to show his class how [[Nazi Germany]] came to be... and it all [[Gone Horribly Right|goes horribly right]] as they ''really'' begin to resemble Nazis. Various people have their Heel Realizations throughout the book, {{spoiler|including the whole class at the end.}}

* This is the central point in the ''[[The Wave]]'', where a teacher wants to show his class how [[Nazi Germany]] came to be... and it all [[Gone Horribly Right|goes horribly right]] as they ''really'' begin to resemble Nazis. Various people have their Heel Realizations throughout the book, {{spoiler|including the whole class at the end.}}

* Jack McBride in ''[[Honor Harrington ~~(Literature)~~|Torch of Freedom]]'', comes to the conclusion halfway through the book that promoting slavery and plotting to take over the known galaxy is bad {{spoiler|and reacts by setting up a defection by a major researcher and then blowing up the Gamma center.}}

* Jack McBride in ''[[Honor Harrington|Torch of Freedom]]'', comes to the conclusion halfway through the book that promoting slavery and plotting to take over the known galaxy is bad {{spoiler|and reacts by setting up a defection by a major researcher and then blowing up the Gamma center.}}

** In other examples from the Harrington-verse, Alfredo Yu realizes what kind of sociopaths the Masadans he's been ordered to assist really are and wants nothing more to do with it (nor evidently do a good portion of his fellow Havenite crew). This eventually becomes a recurring theme with other Havenite characters until their second revolution and the overthrow of the Pierre dictatorship.

* Pyotr Fursenko from the [[Dale Brown]] novel ''Warrior Class'' serves as the lead aerospace engineer for the [[Big Bad]] Pavel Kazakov. Detached from the atrocities by his distance from the fighting, the evil of his boss finally sinks in when he acts as [[Guy in Back]] on a bombing run {{spoiler|on the German embassy in Albania, complete with civilian protesters surrounding it.}}

* In [[John C Wright]]'s ''[[The Golden Oecumene ~~(Literature)~~|The Golden Transcedence]]'', Gannis realizes that while he is technically not guilty of any crimes, his behavior has been petty, underhanded, deceitful, and disloyal, and he will be -- quite justly -- shunned for it.

* In [[John C. Wright]]'s ''[[The Golden Oecumene|The Golden Transcedence]]'', Gannis realizes that while he is technically not guilty of any crimes, his behavior has been petty, underhanded, deceitful, and disloyal, and he will be -- quite justly -- shunned for it.

* In George Bernard Shaw's play ''Saint Joan,'' after Joan of Arc is captured, the English chaplain John de Stogumber pushes relentlessly for burning her at the stake; when he actually sees it done, he literally goes insane with remorse.

* In ''[[Harry Potter]]'', this happened to {{spoiler|Dumbledore}} after the [[Dead Little Sister|death of his sister]].

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** Also happened to {{spoiler|Snape}} after {{spoiler|his actions resulted in Lily Potter's death}}.

* Valjean in ''[[Les Misérables]]'' had his [[Heel Realization]] after unthinkingly robbing a small child, right after [[The Messiah|Bishop Myriel]] had given him everything he'd owned, which got him to [[The Atoner|start taking his oath to the bishop seriously]], and, well... [[Doorstopper|you know the rest]]. Much later, Javert has his own [[Heel Realization]] when he sees Valjean's honest intent to save Marius shortly after having himself been spared by him, and realizes that the world isn't as black-and-white as he'd meant to believe; he [[Driven to Suicide|doesn't take it as well]].

* [[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea]]: [[Wide Eyed Idealist]] [[The Professor]] Aronnax is truly happy to travel in the Nautilus making submarine research, but after he witness Captain Nemo crossing the [[Moral Event Horizon]], Aronnax realizes the true price of his travels with Captain Nemo:

* [[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea]]: [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]] [[The Professor]] Aronnax is truly happy to travel in the Nautilus making submarine research, but after he witness Captain Nemo crossing the [[Moral Event Horizon]], Aronnax realizes the true price of his travels with Captain Nemo:

{{quote| ''"He had made me, if not an accomplice, at least an eyewitness to his vengeance! Even this was intolerable."''}}

* ''[[In Death]]'': There is this one lawyer in ''Ceremony In Death'' who defends one of the Satanic cult leaders that Eve is trying to take down. This lawyer happens to be a cult member himself. When Eve shows crime scene photos of a murdered cult member, the cult leader acts all "Meh", and the lawyer can only sit there and stare at the photos. Eve pretty much tips him off that she knows about his involvement and that he should think long and hard about what to do next. Later, when the lawyer is by himself, he ends up experiencing a [[Heel Realization]], where he realizes that ever since he joined the cult he's been having blackouts...and in one of those blackouts, the cult member in the photos was murdered in a sacrifice! Who knows what else happened in those blackouts? He ends realizing that he is in big trouble, and decides to pull a [[Heel Face Turn]]...only to get murdered shortly afterwards.

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* In ''[[The Middleman]]'' episode "The Obsolescent Cryogenic Meltdown", {{spoiler|former Middleman}} Guy Goddard realizes that he's the villain when he finds himself saying the villainous [[Once an Episode]] [[Catch Phrase]] "My plan is sheer elegance in its simplicity."

* Nicely played out in the ''[[~~Star Trek Deep Space Nine|~~Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "Waltz", although some fans feel it began Dukat's [[Motive Decay|descent]] into a more [[Ax Crazy|simplistic villainy]]. Upon being asked by the hero to justify his occupation of Bajor, Dukat's calm rationalizations gradually give way to a rant about the Bajorans' lack of gratitude for his mercy, until he answers Sisko's sarcastic "you should have killed them all" with an excited "yes! Yes, that's right, isn't it? I knew it. I've always known it. I should have killed every last one of them. I should have turned their planet into a graveyard the likes of which the Galaxy has never seen! I should have killed them all." When he later makes his escape, he's dropped the claim of being a misunderstood hero that he'd always made before, and becomes an unapologetic, nihilistic villain for the rest of the series - one of the few examples where a character recognizes his villainy and actually [[Card-Carrying Villain|embraces it]].

* Nicely played out in the ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "Waltz", although some fans feel it began Dukat's [[Motive Decay|descent]] into a more [[Ax Crazy|simplistic villainy]]. Upon being asked by the hero to justify his occupation of Bajor, Dukat's calm rationalizations gradually give way to a rant about the Bajorans' lack of gratitude for his mercy, until he answers Sisko's sarcastic "you should have killed them all" with an excited "yes! Yes, that's right, isn't it? I knew it. I've always known it. I should have killed every last one of them. I should have turned their planet into a graveyard the likes of which the Galaxy has never seen! I should have killed them all." When he later makes his escape, he's dropped the claim of being a misunderstood hero that he'd always made before, and becomes an unapologetic, nihilistic villain for the rest of the series - one of the few examples where a character recognizes his villainy and actually [[Card-Carrying Villain|embraces it]].

** This also doubles as a [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]] given what Dukat would go on to do after Sisko basically goaded him into embracing his darkside.

** Also occurs in the Original Series episode, "Changeling", for certain values of "hero" and "villain", as Kirk reveals to NOMAD that it has made an error. NOMAD realizes that it, too, is Faulty and Imperfect, and therefore must be Sterilized.

** ''Also'' in "The Return of the Archons", again in the Original Series. Kirk must have studied Logical Judo in Starfleet.

* ''[[~~30 Rock (TV)|~~30 Rock]]'', Liz goes to her high school reunion and finds out that the reason she was so unpopular in high school {{spoiler|was that her humor was seen as bullying by EVERYONE else in the school}}.

* ''[[30 Rock]]'', Liz goes to her high school reunion and finds out that the reason she was so unpopular in high school {{spoiler|was that her humor was seen as bullying by EVERYONE else in the school}}.

* On ''[[Dollhouse]]'', Mellie/November gives Ballard a creepy speech indicating (between the lines) that she's been programmed with low self-respect, and he responds with a dose of rough sex. The next morning she asks if he'll be looking for Dollhouse clients, and he mutters, "I found one."

** {{spoiler|Topher begins to have this realization, and tries to fight it off with noble goals, such as saving Priya from a lifetime of sex slavery. Nonetheless, his scientific progress leads nowhere good, he holds himself responsible for the destruction his discoveries cause, and he goes insane.}}

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** And Harry Maybourne as well, from slimy weasel to convicted traitor to grudging ally to beloved king of an alien planet.

** Tomin has one early in "The Ark of Truth". The Priors have a collective one after the Ark is opened.

* ''[[Supernatural (TV)|Supernatural]]'' has an odd version in season five when Dean realizes where his current path leads after he's sent into the future and [[Future Me Scares Me|meets himself.]]

* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' has an odd version in season five when Dean realizes where his current path leads after he's sent into the future and [[Future Me Scares Me|meets himself.]]

{{quote| '''Dean:''' (Chained up) What? You don't trust yourself?

'''Future!Dean:''' No. Absolutely not. (leaves)

'''Dean:''' What a ''dick''. }}

** The moment at the end of season four after Sam has killed Lilith and Ruby revealed {{spoiler|that Lilith ''was'' the final seal, not the one who was going to break the final seal,}} is Sam's [[Downplayed Trope|moment]] when he realizes he's just an [[Unwitting Pawn]] who [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|screwed up big time]] {{spoiler|and brought about the apocalypse}}. [[Heroic BSOD|His face]] during Ruby's triumphal and extremely ill-advised [[Evil Gloating|monologue]] conveys complete devastation. He's barely even paying attention when he and Dean subsequently kill Ruby.

** In season seven, after getting [[Drunk On the Dark Side]] and [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]], {{spoiler|Castiel finally realizes he's out of his depth after his [[Disproportionate Revenge]] turns into an unintended massacre when the Leviathans inside him take over}}.

** In season seven, after getting [[Drunk on the Dark Side]] and [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]], {{spoiler|Castiel finally realizes he's out of his depth after his [[Disproportionate Revenge]] turns into an unintended massacre when the Leviathans inside him take over}}.

* As ''[[The Wire]]'' winds to its conclusion, McNulty finally realizes that being a [[Cowboy Cop]] did ''not'' make him a hero after his plan to get more funding for the police via a fake serial killer story blows up in his face.

* In ''[[Alias (TV)|Alias]]'', the agents of SD-6 are ''not'' happy to learn they've been working for the enemy all along.

* In ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'', the agents of SD-6 are ''not'' happy to learn they've been working for the enemy all along.

* Third Season of ''[[Breaking Bad]]'' features Jessie realizing that he's 'the bad guy'

{{quote| "'''Jesse:''' I learned it in rehab. It's all about accepting who you really are. I accept who I am.

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** How about this one, from a ''Dalek'' to the ''Doctor''!

{{quote| [[Not So Different|"You would make]] [[If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him|a good Dalek"]]}}

* Sebastian the Vorlon Inquisitor in ''[[Babylon ~~Five~~]]'' had such a realization about {{spoiler|his "reform" project for which he was "remembered only as [[Jack the Ripper|Jack" (the Ripper)]]}}.

* Sebastian the Vorlon Inquisitor in ''[[Babylon 5]]'' had such a realization about {{spoiler|his "reform" project for which he was "remembered only as [[Jack the Ripper|Jack" (the Ripper)]]}}.

{{quote| '''Sebastian''': The city was drowning in decay, chaos, immorality. A message needed to be sent, etched in blood, for all the world to see: a warning. In the pursuit of my holy cause, I did things, terrible things, unspeakable things. The world condemned me, but it didn't matter, because I believed I was right and the world was wrong. I believed I was the divine messenger. I believed I was...

'''Sheridan:''' Chosen?

'''Sebastian:''' I was found by the Vorlons. They showed me the terrible depth of my mistake, my crimes, my presumption. I have done 400 years of penance in their service. A job for which they said I was ideally suited. Now, perhaps, they will finally let me die. }}

** Also from ''[[Babylon ~~Five~~]]'', Zack Allan. He was originally enticed into joining [[Black Shirt|Nightwatch]] because of the extra pay it offered, but as he noticed Nightwatch get more and more oppressive, he began to resent his decision. Still, he stayed in and simply strove to involve himself as little as possible. Finally, as Nightwatch tries to take over the station, he lets slip that a bunch of Narns are coming in to replace them. The leader of the local Nightwatch musters every hand possible to capture them.{{spoiler|..putting all of them in one single secure location [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|which Zack promptly has sealed]]. After both sides having told him he had done the right thing, it's only ''at this point'' that he feels he can believe it.}}

** Also from ''[[Babylon 5]]'', Zack Allan. He was originally enticed into joining [[Black Shirt|Nightwatch]] because of the extra pay it offered, but as he noticed Nightwatch get more and more oppressive, he began to resent his decision. Still, he stayed in and simply strove to involve himself as little as possible. Finally, as Nightwatch tries to take over the station, he lets slip that a bunch of Narns are coming in to replace them. The leader of the local Nightwatch musters every hand possible to capture them.{{spoiler|..putting all of them in one single secure location [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|which Zack promptly has sealed]]. After both sides having told him he had done the right thing, it's only ''at this point'' that he feels he can believe it.}}

* Done rather nicely in [[~~I Carly~~]] with Nevel, who was as close to a [[Big Bad]] as the show got. After spending the series doing everything he could to destroy iCarly, he gets caught on video being his mean, [[Jerkass]] self to a little girl who'd accidentally bumped into him. Not only does this ruin his life, it shows him what he's ''really'' been like. He pretty much says [[My God, What Have I Done?]] and makes a token effort to change his ways. Ultimately, the iCarly gang help him do so and he performs a [[Heel Face Turn]] as a result.

* Done rather nicely in [[ICarly]] with Nevel, who was as close to a [[Big Bad]] as the show got. After spending the series doing everything he could to destroy iCarly, he gets caught on video being his mean, [[Jerkass]] self to a little girl who'd accidentally bumped into him. Not only does this ruin his life, it shows him what he's ''really'' been like. He pretty much says [[My God, What Have I Done?]] and makes a token effort to change his ways. Ultimately, the iCarly gang help him do so and he performs a [[Heel Face Turn]] as a result.

* ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' had an episode with two unrelated stories about this. One centered arounnd reuinion between Leonard and a former bully, during which time he began to realize how much he'd hurt Leonard {{spoiler|until he wakes up the next morning fully sober up and reverts to his older self}}. The other centered around {{spoiler|Penny}} realizing that she used to be a bully and trying to overcome her guilt upon realizing how much she hurt her classmates.

== Music ==

* Happens twice in ''[[~~Razias Shadow|~~Razia's Shadow]]'' by Forgive Durden. First, when {{spoiler|Ahrima goes into the darkness and Barayas (the Spider) convinces him that the only way to make people respect him is to make them fear him. He destorys the lamps, and is banished. In Toba the Tura, he laments "Oh, [[My God, What Have I Done?|what have I done]]?"}}. Second, {{spoiler|Pallis. After accidentally stabbing his brother, Adakias, he begs and pleads for him to fight and stay alive. Though he was aware of his evil intentions, he didn't mean to take things so far}}.

* Happens twice in ''[[Razia's Shadow]]'' by Forgive Durden. First, when {{spoiler|Ahrima goes into the darkness and Barayas (the Spider) convinces him that the only way to make people respect him is to make them fear him. He destorys the lamps, and is banished. In Toba the Tura, he laments "Oh, [[My God, What Have I Done?|what have I done]]?"}}. Second, {{spoiler|Pallis. After accidentally stabbing his brother, Adakias, he begs and pleads for him to fight and stay alive. Though he was aware of his evil intentions, he didn't mean to take things so far}}.

* The second half of [[David Bowie]]'s "Cygnet Committee," wherein the second narrator first gleefully describes the violence he and his allies have turned to, but slowly sees it to be antithetical to his ideals.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyuJI73Uxns "The Truth beneath the Rose"] by [[Within Temptation]] seems to be about this.

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I was wrong, self-destruction's got me again

I was wrong, I realise now that I was wrong }}

* Happens in the middle of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKQYZUU63QM "Crusade"] by [[Voltaire (~~Music~~)|Voltaire]], after the narrator has slain one of the reportedly evil dragons he was crusading against.

* Happens in the middle of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKQYZUU63QM "Crusade"] by [[Voltaire (band)|Voltaire]], after the narrator has slain one of the reportedly evil dragons he was crusading against.

{{quote| The dragon fell upon the ground

'Twas then I heard a whimpering sound

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* According to Christianity, acknowledging one's own "fallenness" is the first step to receiving salvation.

** A specific example would be Saul, a notorious persecutor of the earliest Christians, who was knocked to the ground and struck blind by a vision of God on the way to Damascus (''"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?"''). He converted within the week to Christianity and found his sight restored, and "the road to Damascus" would become a popular metaphor for the [[Heel Realization]].

* [[Older Than Feudalism]] in ''[[~~The Bible (Literature)|~~The Bible]]'':

* [[Older Than Feudalism]] in ''[[The Bible]]'':

** "Truly, [[Jesus|this man]] [[Bullying a Dragon|was the son of God]]."

** In the New Testament, when Judas Iscariot realizes that he's betrayed Jesus, he gives back the thirty pieces of silver, and hangs himself. (The other account for his death averts this trope.)

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== Theater ==

* The stage version of ''[[Little Shop of Horrors]]'' climaxes when Seymour Krelborn realizes what he's aided and abetted for a little fame and a shot at the woman of his dreams. Confronting [[Man-Eating Plant|Audrey 2]] he damns them both, [[Not So Different|"You're a monster, and so am I!"]] {{spoiler|He is then [[Downer Ending|promptly eaten]].}}

* Valjean and Javert in ''[[Les Misérables (~~Theatre~~)|Les Misérables]]'' - see Literature, above, although the episodes with Petit Gervais and Marius are sometimes omitted, the realizations following directly from the Bishop's undeserved gift to Valjean and Valjean's decision to spare Javert. Here, with Javert having been upgraded from "recurring nuisance" to "deuteragonist," an explicit parallel is drawn, Javert having a solo that's a [[Dark Reprise]] of Valjean's.

* Valjean and Javert in ''[[Les Misérables (theatre)|Les Misérables]]'' - see Literature, above, although the episodes with Petit Gervais and Marius are sometimes omitted, the realizations following directly from the Bishop's undeserved gift to Valjean and Valjean's decision to spare Javert. Here, with Javert having been upgraded from "recurring nuisance" to "deuteragonist," an explicit parallel is drawn, Javert having a solo that's a [[Dark Reprise]] of Valjean's.

== Video Games ==

* In ''[[~~Tales of Phantasia (Video Game)|~~Tales of Phantasia]]'', the main characters' primary motivation the entire game long is avenging the slaughter of their hometown, but they go too far and they end up nearly dooming a planet because of it. There's a nice few minutes of angst (not quite enough, though) right after the [[Final Boss]] fight.

* In ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'', the main characters' primary motivation the entire game long is avenging the slaughter of their hometown, but they go too far and they end up nearly dooming a planet because of it. There's a nice few minutes of angst (not quite enough, though) right after the [[Final Boss]] fight.

** About two thirds of the way through ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]'', the party (which has to this point skirted the line between heroism and villainy, [[Vigilante Man|Yuri]] in particular) has a plan to defeat the newly-arrived [[Man Behind the Man]], but it will involve {{spoiler|[[The Magic Goes Away|destroying every blastia in the world]].}} The crew considers this for a moment and decides they need to get the permission of the world's leaders for such an act {{spoiler|which they get! Now the only problem is stopping resident [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]] Duke from sacrificing every human life on the planet in HIS attempt to destroy the Adephagos.}} Oh yeah, and {{spoiler|after you beat the snot out of Duke, he plays this trope absurdly straight, even to the point where he survives.}}

* In ''[[Valkyria Chronicles]]'' one of the Imperial generals, Yeager, realizes that even though he's fighting to liberate his own country, his participation in the invasion of Gallia makes him a hypocrite. Inspired by the zeal and dedication the Gallians show in defending their homeland, Yeager decides to abandon his post and leaves the Imperial army.

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** It's worth noting that Atris wasn't Darth Traya, or at least not the ''original'' Darth Traya. In the version of the game that shipped, which had quite a bit of story cut for time, Atris doesn't get a Sith name. The full story, including the bits that got cut, seems to be canonical, though. It's also hinted that Kreia went through the same realization sometime in her past, as well as Atton Rand, whose story you can find out more about.

** And then there is the original ''KotOR'', where at tho-thirds point in the game you learn that {{spoiler|you were the amnesiac Sith Lord all along}}.

* ''[[~~Devil Survivor (Video Game)|~~Devil Survivor]]'' has [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] {{spoiler|Keisuke}}, who only has this epiphany if made to realize they're [[Not So Different]] from the people they seek to punish: {{spoiler|like them, he's looking for [[The Scapegoat|somebody to blame]] for conditions in the lockdown getting worse, and killing anyone he judges responsible.}}

* ''[[Devil Survivor]]'' has [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] {{spoiler|Keisuke}}, who only has this epiphany if made to realize they're [[Not So Different]] from the people they seek to punish: {{spoiler|like them, he's looking for [[The Scapegoat|somebody to blame]] for conditions in the lockdown getting worse, and killing anyone he judges responsible.}}

* White Knight Leo from ''[[Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete|Lunar 2: Eternal Blue]]'' is a [[Knight Templar]] who's really a [[Knight in Shining Armor]] at heart...which is why he [[Heel Face Revolving Door|flip-flops between Heel and Face]]. By the time he's mostly sided with Hiro, he's had to accept that {{spoiler|the Althena he served was a fake goddess, put into position by the real dark god, Zophar. Oh, and that he's slaughtered an untold number of other innocent people by unquestioningly following the orders of his false goddess.}} It's a tough pill to swallow.

* [[Infocom]]'s ''[[~~Leather Goddesses of Phobos (Video Game)|~~Leather Goddesses of Phobos]]'': {{spoiler|Disarming Thorbast/Thorbala then returning his/her sword causes him/her to realize that he/she is the bad guy.}}

* [[Infocom]]'s ''[[Leather Goddesses of Phobos]]'': {{spoiler|Disarming Thorbast/Thorbala then returning his/her sword causes him/her to realize that he/she is the bad guy.}}

* ''[[~~Xenosaga (Video Game)|~~Xenosaga]]'' has Canaan, who actually does this ''twice'': first as Lactis during the cellphone game ''Pied Piper'', then a hundred years later during ''Xenosaga III: [[Also Sprach Zarathustra]]'' as Canaan. Both times, {{spoiler|[[Redemption Equals Death]]. Reincarnation is fun, kids.}}

* ''[[Xenosaga]]'' has Canaan, who actually does this ''twice'': first as Lactis during the cellphone game ''Pied Piper'', then a hundred years later during ''Xenosaga III: [[Also Sprach Zarathustra]]'' as Canaan. Both times, {{spoiler|[[Redemption Equals Death]]. Reincarnation is fun, kids.}}

* [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=198344&site=pcg This] "[[Let's Play]]" of ''[[Galactic Civilizations]] 2'' was intended to be a peaceful attempt at attaining galactic superiority through advanced culture. Half way through comes the realization that something has gone terribly wrong:

{{quote| ''[[What Have I Become?|God, look at me]]. This was supposed to be my quest for peace, and I've become addicted to destroying suns.''}}

* At the end of ''[[Mass Effect]]'', it's possible to talk {{spoiler|[[The Dragon|Saren Arterius]] into this, making him realize that he's been [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] all of this time. After this, he proceeds to [[Driven to Suicide|take a pistol and shoot himself]], thanking Shepard with his last words.}} This is approached somewhat differently than usual, as he's already figured out he's the bad guy, but thought it [[Necessarily Evil|to be the only way for anyone to survive the Reaper invasion]]. The player's contribution is to get him to realize that that's the [[Mind Control|indoctrination]] talking.

** Of course, anyone who has read the ''Mass Effect: Revelation'' prequel book will know that he was an asshole with an agenda even before his {{spoiler|indoctrination}}. He would abuse his {{spoiler|Spectre}} status and openly lie to prevent Anderson from becoming the first human Spectre.

* This is how the [[Talking the Monster To Death]] solution to the [[Big Bad]] works in the original ''[[Fallout]]''. Once you prove to him that his plan could not work and [[Utopia Justifies the Means|the Utopia that would Justify The Means can't exist]], he realizes that he's simply been doing evil and is [[Driven to Suicide]] by the revelation.

* This is how the [[Talking the Monster to Death]] solution to the [[Big Bad]] works in the original ''[[Fallout]]''. Once you prove to him that his plan could not work and [[Utopia Justifies the Means|the Utopia that would Justify The Means can't exist]], he realizes that he's simply been doing evil and is [[Driven to Suicide]] by the revelation.

* Also in ''[[Fallout New Vegas]]'', Joshua Graham, co-founder of [[The Horde|Caesar's Legion]] underwent this after his attempted execution. After he [[Implacable Man|survived]], he became a Mormon once again (albeit very [[Kill'Em All|militant]]) and rejoined his church.

* Also in ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'', Joshua Graham, co-founder of [[The Horde|Caesar's Legion]] underwent this after his attempted execution. After he [[Implacable Man|survived]], he became a Mormon once again (albeit very [[Kill'Em All|militant]]) and rejoined his church.

** One way of [[Talking the Monster To Death]] in ''Fallout 3'' is to confront [[President Evil|President]] [[AI Is a Crapshoot|Eden]] about [[Logic Bomb|his cricular thinking]]. You then tell him to self-destruct.

** One way of [[Talking the Monster to Death]] in ''Fallout 3'' is to confront [[President Evil|President]] [[AI Is a Crapshoot|Eden]] about [[Logic Bomb|his cricular thinking]]. You then tell him to self-destruct.

{{quote| '''Eden:''' Perhaps...Perhaps there ''is'' a problem. I--I am unsure how to proceed.}}

* If you spare {{spoiler|Loghain}} in ''[[Dragon Age]]: Origins'' and increase his approval, he will eventually go through one of these. His last words {{spoiler|if you allow him to slay the Archdemon}} make it clear that he knows his past actions are unforgivable, and all he wants is a chance to atone for them.

* Cecil in ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'' is loyal to his king at the start of the game, having been raised like a son by him. However, he draws the line when he's [[Unwitting Pawn|unwittingly used]] to [[Kick the Dog|burn down an entire village of innocent summoners.]] The next part of the game involves him trying to [[The Atoner|atone]] for the awful things he did as a Dark Knight in Baron's service.

* In ''[[God of War (~~Video Game~~)|God of War]] III'', Kratos goes through this due to a combination of [["The Reason You Suck" Speech|The Reason You Suck Speeches]] given to him as well as developing a [[Morality Chain]] with Pandora, a <s>girl</s> [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|statue given life]] who clings to hope in a world that Kratos is systematically destroying. By the end, {{spoiler|he decides to relinquish the power of Hope via a [[Anti-Hero|Anti]]-[[Heroic Sacrifice]], though by that time, it's far too late to fix anything.}}

* In ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]] III'', Kratos goes through this due to a combination of [["The Reason You Suck" Speech|The Reason You Suck Speeches]] given to him as well as developing a [[Morality Chain]] with Pandora, a <s>girl</s> [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|statue given life]] who clings to hope in a world that Kratos is systematically destroying. By the end, {{spoiler|he decides to relinquish the power of Hope via a [[Anti-Hero|Anti]]-[[Heroic Sacrifice]], though by that time, it's far too late to fix anything.}}

* Throughout ''[[Persona 4]]'', {{spoiler|Namatame (manipulated by the real killer) has kidnapped people he saw on the Midnight Channel and thrown them into the TV to protect them from a [[Serial Killer]]. He sincerely believes that the TV is a safe place, and he can retrieve them once the killer's found. What he doesn't realize is that they can't escape on their own, and once the fog lifts, they will be killed by Shadows. Once he himself enters the TV to escape police pursuit, it hits him just how wrong he was, and he does everything he can to assist the party as atonement... assuming you aren't cruel enough to kill him.}}

* Quite possibly the entire reason [[Jerkass Gods|Raiden]] attempts to change history in ''[[Mortal Kombat]] 9'', coupled with [[The Bad Guy Wins|Shao Kahn's victory]]. His revival of Liu Kang is one of the key events shown in the flashback message he sends to his past self.

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* In ''[[Back to The Future]]: The Game'', {{spoiler|Edna Strickland}} is hit with one of these in the fifth episode, after admitting that {{spoiler|she accidentally burned Hill Valley to the ground when trying to destroy a saloon in the 1800s.}}

{{quote| {{spoiler|Edna: I'm a hooligan!}}}}

* In ''[[~~Devil May Cry (Video Game)|~~Devil May Cry]]'', Trish is a demon sent to lure Dante to his doom. He shrugs off her attempts to take his life, and even goes so far as to save her from a falling column -- and then calls her a devil and tells her that he only spared her because she looks like his mother. Trish's stricken look at that moment speaks volumes.

* In ''[[Devil May Cry]]'', Trish is a demon sent to lure Dante to his doom. He shrugs off her attempts to take his life, and even goes so far as to save her from a falling column -- and then calls her a devil and tells her that he only spared her because she looks like his mother. Trish's stricken look at that moment speaks volumes.

* In ''[[Asura's Wrath]]'', Yasha spent the last 12,000 years going along with the plans of the same people who killed his sister and his brother-in-law, enslaved his niece, and regularly slaughter people for their souls. All for the sake of the "cause" -- preventing the complete destruction of humanity at the hands of the Gohma. He justified it by believing with all his might that it truly was the only way to save humanity in the long run. Confronting Asura again and seeing how much power he's attained ''without'' mass human sacrifice helps Yasha realize that Deus' plan ''isn't'' the only way to save the world. When Asura calls Yasha and the other Deities fools for killing ''seven trillion people'' as part of their plan to "save" the world, Yasha agrees.

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* In ''[[Tsukihime]]'', Akiha route, you can, at one point, kill Ciel ({{spoiler|thus, failing her test of Shiki's humanity}}), prompting Shiki to assume he IS a natural-born killer, after all, and give in to [[The Dark Side]]. Needless to say, it's a bad ending game over.

** Part of Kohaku's route {{spoiler|has her realize much quicker than in Hisui's route that maaaaybe she should have picked a different hobby than plotting the utter annihilation of the Tohno family, even if Makihasa wasn't [[Complete Monster|the world's nicest guy after his Inversion Impulse began]].}}

* Part of Kotomine's [[Backstory]] in ''[[Fate ~~Stay Night~~]]'' is his realization that nice people do not enjoying watching others being tortured or that sort of thing. That's fundamentally why he can't actually become a [[Card-Carrying Villain]]; he actually has a sense of morality. The end result can be considered an [[Ignored Epiphany]] but he ''did'' try. For years.

* Part of Kotomine's [[Backstory]] in ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' is his realization that nice people do not enjoying watching others being tortured or that sort of thing. That's fundamentally why he can't actually become a [[Card-Carrying Villain]]; he actually has a sense of morality. The end result can be considered an [[Ignored Epiphany]] but he ''did'' try. For years.

* In ''[[Phoenix Wright]]: [[Ace Attorney]]'', Miles Edgeworth starts to have "doubts" after you demonstrate two defendants to be innocent, but it's not until he's the defendant in {{spoiler|two murder trials in a row}} in which he's innocent that he really decides that forging evidence to get every single defendant found guilty is a bad thing. Furthermore, he finds out that although he became a prosecutor because of {{spoiler|the fatal shooting of his father}}, it turns out that {{spoiler|the real killer is the senior prosecutor who he works with - the one who taught him how to forge evidence!}}

** Also, in the fifth case, Edgeworth finds that {{spoiler|he's already guilty of using forged evidence, and the forged evidence was used to give a death sentance to a serial killer.}} He wasn't aware of it at the time ({{spoiler|he himself didn't forge the evidence, and he was convinced at the time that it was the real deal}}), but it really came to bite him in the ass when people found it out and started to call him out on it. Even when they find out {{spoiler|who forged the eivdence and why, sort of clearing his name a bit}}, he couldn't forgive himself for it...and it's implied that {{spoiler|it's one of the many things that pushes him to leave the prosecutors office for a year, leaving what appears to be a suicide note}}.

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* In ''[[Endstone]]'', when about to [[Mind Rape]] her [[Parental Substitute]], [http://endstone.net/2009/06/15/issue-1-page-22/ Cole wonders why she is doing these terrible things -- for a panel].

* ''[[Bobwhite]]'', during a summer story arc, Cleo realizes, [http://www.bobwhitecomics.com/?webcomic_post=20090707 "I'm such a terrible employee that I made a child cry."]

* In [[Order of the Stick]] Varsuvius not too long ago made a [[Deal ~~With~~ the Devil]] or devils plural in this case and using her acquired power {{spoiler|cast an epic level spell that killed black dragons family and anyone even tangentially related to them}} at the time though she or he realized they'd done wrong, it wasn't till now just [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0843.html how wrong they had gone] truly hit them.

* In [[Order of the Stick]] Varsuvius not too long ago made a [[Deal with the Devil]] or devils plural in this case and using her acquired power {{spoiler|cast an epic level spell that killed black dragons family and anyone even tangentially related to them}} at the time though she or he realized they'd done wrong, it wasn't till now just [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0843.html how wrong they had gone] truly hit them.

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* Steve in ''[[Kate Modern]]'', when he realises his religion is actually a [[Religion of Evil|murderous cult]], which he has been serving blindly.

* Bobby Jacks in ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'', who realizes he's one of the bad guys very early on but then decides that now that he's killed somebody there's no going back. Lenny Priestly also arguably fits this, although he is less somber about it.

** In ''v4'', Reiko Ishida has one of these after {{spoiler|strangling resident [[Wide Eyed Idealist]] and [[Instant Fanclub]] member Carol Burke to death in a fit of rage.}}

** In ''v4'', Reiko Ishida has one of these after {{spoiler|strangling resident [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]] and [[Instant Fanclub]] member Carol Burke to death in a fit of rage.}}

* Cracked.com offers a helpful list of [http://www.cracked.com/article_15021_5-signs-that-youre-villain-in-hollywood-action-movie.html 5 Signs That You're The Villain In An Action Movie], including details like acknowledging one's own [[Red Right Hand]] and the possibility of being an [[Evil Brit]].

* The ''Escapist'' series ''Doraleous and Associates'' had an episode where the titular heroes-for-hire realized they were working for the bad guys. They immediately switched sides.

* In [http://www.rebelchristmascard2009.com/ this] short video made for Christmas 2009, [[~~Twenty Four~~|Jack Bauer]] begins to [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique|interrogate and torture]] [[Santa Claus]]. (Santa's flying over the US without a passport delivering mysterious packages, after all). With only a few sentences Santa makes Jack (who has just threatened to [[Eye Scream|cut out Santa's eyes]]) realize that what he's doing is wrong. The video ends with an emotionally distraught Jack leaving the room and nearly having a breakdown in his car.

* In [http://www.rebelchristmascard2009.com/ this] short video made for Christmas 2009, [[24|Jack Bauer]] begins to [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique|interrogate and torture]] [[Santa Claus]]. (Santa's flying over the US without a passport delivering mysterious packages, after all). With only a few sentences Santa makes Jack (who has just threatened to [[Eye Scream|cut out Santa's eyes]]) realize that what he's doing is wrong. The video ends with an emotionally distraught Jack leaving the room and nearly having a breakdown in his car.

* The original Dove was a vigilante crimefighter from the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'' who was active between 1989 and 1995. He considered himself a hero helping to defend ordinary people from street criminals. His usual modus operandi was to hunt any criminal whom he thought "got away with it"; that is, whenever he disagreed with a "not guilty" verdict. When captured, he was confronted with the fact that he wasn't a defender of the public, but rather just another serial killer and the idea horrified him to the point that he hung himself while awaiting trial.

* Phase of the [[Whateley Universe]] is a fourteen-year-old who was kicked out of the richest family on the planet, the Goodkinds, when he turned into a mutant: the Goodkinds are notoriously anti-mutant, supporting the [[Knight Templar|Knights of Purity]] and the semi-governmental Mutant Commission Office (MCO). Goodkinds, including the boy Phase used to be, have supported the MCO with billions of dollars over the years. Phase has defended the MCO to his new (mutant) friends at [[Super-Hero School|Whateley Academy]], even though there are rumors that the MCO has kidnapped hundreds of young mutants who were never seen again. In "Ayla and the Grinch", Phase has to face the fact that the MCO really ''has'' been kidnapping, and "disappearing", young mutants, and he is partly responsible, since he helped fund the MCO.

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'''Brock:''' (pauses, then rocks his hand in a "kind of" gesture) Ehhhh..... }}

* In the final regular episode of ''[[Daria]]'', Daria has a painful flashback memory about a loud argument her parents had over her. At this, Daria is wracked with guilt that she had been an unfair burden to her parent when she thought she was being herself. However, her parents make it clear that as much as they tried to encourage a more social attitude from her, they also accepted that her loner and iconoclastic ways were worth the price to have a daughter who is admirably intelligent, perceptive and principled.

* Adora in the ''[[She Ra Princess of Power ~~(Animation)~~|She Ra Princess of Power]]'' [[Pilot Movie]].

* Adora in the ''[[She-Ra: Princess of Power|She Ra Princess of Power]]'' [[Pilot Movie]].

* Judge Frollo has one of these at the beginning of the Disney adaptation of ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'', when the Archdeacon makes him realize that dropping a deformed baby down a well after killing its mother (in front of a cathedral, no less) might just damn his eternal soul to Hell. It lasts long enough for him to spare the child, but he [[Ignored Epiphany|doesn't seem to realize that all the OTHER horrible things he does would ALSO damn him to Hell]] and thus reverts back to his [[Knight Templar]] self for the rest of the movie.

* Judge Frollo has one of these at the beginning of the Disney adaptation of ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'', when the Archdeacon makes him realize that dropping a deformed baby down a well after killing its mother (in front of a cathedral, no less) might just damn his eternal soul to Hell. It lasts long enough for him to spare the child, but he [[Ignored Epiphany|doesn't seem to realize that all the OTHER horrible things he does would ALSO damn him to Hell]] and thus reverts back to his [[Knight Templar]] self for the rest of the movie.

* In ''[[Megas XLR]]'', Coop tries to protect the Earth, though it's usually his fault, and he does far more damage than anyone else. The S-Force and ''their'' evil nemesis, [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Ender]], spend an entire episode pointing this out to him (aptly titled ''The Bad Guy''), and nearly everyone else does at some point. In the series finale, {{spoiler|an AU version of him actually ''was'' the bad guy. It was intended to be revealed at some point that he created the Glorft on accident, too.}}

* In an episode of ''[[~~Family Guy (Animation)|~~Family Guy]]'' where Stewie {{spoiler|has learned he is actually a masochist as he tries to goad Lois to hit him}} he says, "Dear Lord, I really do have problems don't I?" and we agree.

* In an episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'' where Stewie {{spoiler|has learned he is actually a masochist as he tries to goad Lois to hit him}} he says, "Dear Lord, I really do have problems don't I?" and we agree.

* In ''[[~~The Lion King (Disney)|~~The Lion King]] 2'', after [[In Love ~~With~~ the Mark|falling for Kiara]] and hearing Simba's side of Scar's death, Kovu finishes [[Becoming the Mask]] and gets a [[My God, What Have I Done?|My God What Did I Almost Do]] moment, deciding not to go through with the assassination plot he had been sent to do. [[Evil Matriarch|His mother]] didn't like this.

* In ''[[The Lion King]] 2'', after [[In Love with the Mark|falling for Kiara]] and hearing Simba's side of Scar's death, Kovu finishes [[Becoming the Mask]] and gets a [[My God, What Have I Done?|My God What Did I Almost Do]] moment, deciding not to go through with the assassination plot he had been sent to do. [[Evil Matriarch|His mother]] didn't like this.

* Not an easy process for Zuko of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', but he eventually gets there: "[[Heel Face Turn|I'm good now]]. I mean, I thought I was good before, but now I realize I was bad..."

* In the film version of ''[[All Star Superman (~~Animation~~)|All Star Superman]]'', [[Lex Luthor]] has one of his only heel realizations in any continuity after he finally ''gets it''. What is "it"? ''Everything''.

* In the film version of ''[[All-Star Superman (film)|All Star Superman]]'', [[Lex Luthor]] has one of his only heel realizations in any continuity after he finally ''gets it''. What is "it"? ''Everything''.

{{quote| '''Lex Luthor:''' "I could have made ''everyone'' see! If it wasn't for [[Superman|you]], ''I could have saved the world!''"

'''Superman:''' "If it had ''mattered'' to you, Luthor, you could have saved the world years ago."

'''Luthor:''' "... you're right." }}

* In the ''[[~~South Park (Animation)|~~South Park]]'' episode "Crack Baby Athletic Program", Cartman talks Kyle into joining his business of getting crack babies to play basketball which, after some kareoke and bacon pancakes from Denny's, he accepts. He then tells Stan about it and Stan doesn't reply, making Kyle give a monolouge how him and satire target NCAA do good by using players like slaves. Then towards the end of the ep Stan just says he's starting to sound like Cartman and Kyle goes "No I'm not goddammit!" [[My God, What Have I Done?|and cups his mouth in shock.]]

* In the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Crack Baby Athletic Program", Cartman talks Kyle into joining his business of getting crack babies to play basketball which, after some kareoke and bacon pancakes from Denny's, he accepts. He then tells Stan about it and Stan doesn't reply, making Kyle give a monolouge how him and satire target NCAA do good by using players like slaves. Then towards the end of the ep Stan just says he's starting to sound like Cartman and Kyle goes "No I'm not goddammit!" [[My God, What Have I Done?|and cups his mouth in shock.]]

* In "The Glass Princess", an episode of the original ''[[My Little Pony]]'', [[Vain Sorceress|Porcina]] has been turning Ponyland and the ponies there into glass at the encouragement of her [[Dragon ~~With~~ an Agenda|Raptorian minions]]. But when confronted by some of the ponies face-to-face, she can't do it. She had only been able to do it to the others because they didn't seem real through her scrying glass, and ends up seeing the error of her ways.

* In "The Glass Princess", an episode of the original ''[[My Little Pony]]'', [[Vain Sorceress|Porcina]] has been turning Ponyland and the ponies there into glass at the encouragement of her [[Dragon with an Agenda|Raptorian minions]]. But when confronted by some of the ponies face-to-face, she can't do it. She had only been able to do it to the others because they didn't seem real through her scrying glass, and ends up seeing the error of her ways.

* In ''[[~~Gargoyles (Animation)|~~Gargoyles]]'', Demona comes oh-so-close to hitting this multiple times, but always turns it into an [[Ignored Epiphany]] at the last second. John Canmore winds up doing the same.

* In ''[[Gargoyles]]'', Demona comes oh-so-close to hitting this multiple times, but always turns it into an [[Ignored Epiphany]] at the last second. John Canmore winds up doing the same.

{{quote| '''Demona (and later John):''' [[My God, What Have I Done?|What have I]]... what have '''[[Ignored Epiphany|they]]''' done?!}}

* In the episode "Secret of my Excess" of ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic ~~(Animation)~~|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' Spike's draconic hoarding instinct triggers and he starts going through dragon puberty, growing to prodigious size and snatching everything he likes the look of. Then Rarity snaps at him when he tries to steal the wrong necklace (one made with a stone he gave her, after painstakingly "ripening" it with intent to ''eat it'' himself) and he realizes that not only does his beloved Rarity literally not recognize him anymore, she hates what he's become, and the [[Heel Realization]] is so powerful it actually ''reverses the puberty'' and he shrinks back down do his familiar size.

* In the episode "Secret of my Excess" of ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' Spike's draconic hoarding instinct triggers and he starts going through dragon puberty, growing to prodigious size and snatching everything he likes the look of. Then Rarity snaps at him when he tries to steal the wrong necklace (one made with a stone he gave her, after painstakingly "ripening" it with intent to ''eat it'' himself) and he realizes that not only does his beloved Rarity literally not recognize him anymore, she hates what he's become, and the [[Heel Realization]] is so powerful it actually ''reverses the puberty'' and he shrinks back down do his familiar size.

** Fluttershy in "Putting Your Hoof Down." After becoming more and more violent and then proceeding to tell off her own friends and make them cry, after looking into a puddle and seeing her own rage face she's horrified at what she's become.